After the loss of star slugger Albert Pujols to free agency over the winter, the Cardinals were seen as a team surely on the mend.
Yes, the team had just won its second World Series in its third appearance of the past decade, bettering Susan Lucci’s Emmy success ratio by a mile. And yes, the team retained its perennial Cy Young Award candidate Adam Wainwright. But still, many commentators saw the departure of ol’ No. 5 as the death knell of the Cardinals dynasty.
And they were completely wrong.
The St. Louis Cardinals have shot out of the gate this season, and despite the departure of Pujols, they haven’t missed a beat. At 16-10, they’re sitting pretty atop the NL Central. So what are the team’s keys to success? What’s in the Cardinals’ secret sauce?